THE LONG-AWAITED MEMOIR FROM KATHY VALENTINE
Accompanying Soundtrack Available on All Streaming Platforms NOW!
(Los Angeles, CA) – March 26, 2020 – From Kathy Valentine, a member of the groundbreaking, all-female rock band – The Go-Go’s – comes All I Ever Wanted – A Rock ‘N’ Roll Memoir (on sale 3/31/20; hardcover; $26.95; ISBN: 978-1-4773-1233-9). Coinciding with the release of All I Ever Wanted, Valentine has created a soundtrack with each new work inspired by the chapters of her captivating memoir. It is available now on all streaming platforms. Listen here.
Kathy had an engaging, funny yet insightful, conversation with Marc Maron for his WTF Podcast, available today. In addition, Billboard premiered “Camouflage”, a song from her accompanying soundtrack, yesterday. As Kathy told Billboard, “When I finished the book I didn’t feel finished with the story, so I started writing some songs and it was a phenomenal experience.”
Due to the current Covid 19 health crisis, a unique series of book tour events that were planned have now been postponed. The events were to include conversations with icons of punk and indie rock culture including; Kathleen Hanna, Sara Hickman, John Doe, Gina Schock, Lizz Winstead, Ann Powers. We look forward to announcing rescheduled events in the near future.
Kathy has worked so hard to bring her story to life — she is available to discuss her extraordinary journey via phone/skype/facetime.
About the book:
Kathy Valentine’s story is a roller coaster of sex, drugs, and of course music; it’s also a story of what it takes to not only find success but, find yourself, even when it all comes crashing down. At twenty-one, Valentine was in the iconic venue The Whisky in Los Angeles when she met a guitarist from a fledgling band called the Go-Go’s and the band needed a bassist. The Go-Go’s became the first multi-platinum-selling, all-female band to play instruments themselves, write their own songs, and have a number one album. Their debut, Beauty and the Beat, spent six weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 and featured the hit songs “We Got the Beat” and “Our Lips Are Sealed.” The record’s success brought the pressures of a relentless workload and schedule culminating in a wild, hazy, substance-fueled tour that took the band from the club circuit to arenas, where fans, promoters, and crew were more than ready to keep the party going. For Valentine, the band’s success was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream but, it’s only part of her story. All I Ever Wanted traces the path that took her from her childhood in Texas, where she all but raised herself, to the height of rock ’n’ roll stardom, devastation after the collapse of the band that had come to define her, and the quest to regain her sense of self in the aftermath.
Valentine also speaks candidly about the lasting effects of parental betrayal, abortion, rape, and her struggles with drugs and alcohol—and the music that saved her every step of the way. Populated with vivid portraits of Valentine’s interactions during the 1980s with musicians and actors from the Police and Rod Stewart to John Belushi and Rob Lowe, All I Ever Wanted is a deeply personal reflection on a life spent in music.
“Tour Daze”
(photo credit: from authors collection)
“The book is wonderful. It’s also an easy read, the prose as rhythmic and pulsating as her musicianship.”
- LA Weekly
“…an open and often surprising read…” – Billboard
“…such an interesting, fast-paced, can’t wait to turn the page read. She is honest about everything as she takes us through Austin, Los Angeles, London and onto the concert stage.” – Glide